Teavana Honeybush Vanilla

At the social tea parties I've been attending recently Teavana has been a very popular choice, and I noticed I haven't done any of their products in a long time! So tonight I've chosen to relax with and write about their Honeybush Vanilla herbal tea. I'd like to start by noting that my sense's attention was caught before water even touched the tea. It would make a fantastic potpourri.

Don't think the title labels the taste of this tea though because if you want a dessert level of sweetness you'll have to add some sweetener. The tea is actually quite malty and the vanilla isn't vanilla extract, but vanilla beans! This malty aspect has an overtone of walnuts and gives the body a round feel. There is a touch of sweetness to this tea in the taste of a clover honey. The sweetness and malty aspects are the same element in the taste, and the true vanilla is most sensed in the aura and aftertaste.

This is not what I would expect from a tea with such a name, but I doubt a honey and vanilla-extract tea would be best for a loose leaf tea. As a hot tea I'm grading it with C (decent), but cold brings out more of a balance with a stronger vanilla. And perhaps it could blend with others to taste as an A?

Homegrown Herb & Tea Sniffle T

Many of you should take note of todays tea because, as the title would suggest, it's a great choice for fighting a cold. It's also the first tea I'm reviewing from Homegrown Herb & Tea, a small place ran by a dedicated and knowledgeable Sarah in Portland, Maine. If you're in the area I'd suggest you stop by her storefront to experience it's homely and organic aura with your tea. I'm here to tell you of the tea's taste though.

There's a lot going on in this cup. A strong floral element is one of the prime tastes, probably clover and chamomile. Earthy in a slightly chai way is stronger though. Anise must be a the part that creates the chai effect. It leaves you with a ginger-like kick at the end which a sick person would enjoy immensely, (I don't believe there is any ginger in this though).

Most cold combatant teas I've had are just mint leaf or ginger with honey. Homegrown has outperformed those in sinus cleansing. It's a solid B (good) in taste though. This is the one I'll be keeping on hand this winter.

Teavana MatéVana

Teavana must be very proud of this one, they named it after themselves! And a little inspection before steeping showed little pieces of chocolate and nuts of a sort that tasted very good without any steeping. (On a side note, mmmm...) On Teavana's website their sales pitch seems to be health, like a parallel to a nicotine patch for coffee to get you off that addiction (coffee is not a bad addiction though). Let me tell you how this products cup will treat you with your mental health though.

All the elements of this tea are quite merged so it's hard to determine what makes it up. The roasted maté will satisfy all those use to coffee but it has the green grassy note of unroasted maté as well through the smell. I don't have any sweet-tooth with tea but the chocolate didn't turn me away at all. The nuts work perfectly with the roasted maté making it a little more hearty for the coffee drinkers. Lastly there is a herb underneath it all that I can't put my finger on.

It's only fair to note that I can already feel MatéVana starting my day well with "energy without jitteriness". This is a fine roasted maté that I feel is a B (good) and I recommend it to all that want a healthy start. I'd also get it at the mall when all of your friends are in line for coffee but you don't feel like coffee.

The Maté Factor Green Tea Ginseng

The Maté Factor has created a product with three super-duper healthy factors; green tea, maté and ginseng. You’re not a health nut if you don’t see the benefits of this. I don’t drink this just for my health though, I enjoy it. So if you’re interested read on and find out why I do.

Green maté is the prime trait in the smell and taste, “planty-green”. The green tea comes out through the body and aftertaste though; it gives it a bolder body and a vegetable quality. I’m guessing that the tea used is a sencha due to those attributes. I’m not sure that ginseng has a taste, but I can feel the effect.

With only a taste perspective The Maté Factor’s Green Tea Ginseng is a B (good). I would like to note the convenience of it though: You don’t need to steep maté in hot water, you can steep it cold. When I lack time in the morning, I put two bags in a thermos with a touch of honey and I have a nice boost when I need it.

Celestial Seasonings Honey Vanilla Chamomile

This is my first review of a chamomile tea. For those that don't know what that is, it's an herbal tea from Egypt that's commonly related with sleep and calming. Honey and vanilla sounds like a good addition to a soothing drink, right? I'll find out if Celestial Seasonings Honey Vanilla Chamomile is something you should keep in your cupboard for a night you can't fall asleep.

This smells quite sweet. The aura put off by this is the honey with a nutty side of vanilla, but I can also identify an orange citrus in the background. Once sipped you can taste chamomile, a floral-clover flavor and the nutty vanilla. Honey and orange are underneath being barely noticeable. The honey element sticks to the back of your tongue.

This tea does its job calming for sure, I can feel it. Taste wise it's a find drink that I'll visit frequently before bed. B (good). This would be a great drink for when one's sick in bed.

Stash Lemon Ginger

Sorry about the lack of posts recently, the holidays and lack of an internet connection was hindering. My first post in 2010 is Stash's herbal Lemon Ginger tea. Now I've tried many teas with lemon and ginger before, but not one with lemon and ginger.

Indian cuisine seems to be the theme of this tea. The smell put out by this mimics a lemon lentil dish perfectly with a zesty-spicy lemon scent. Once sipped the ginger factor appears as a bite and lemon takes a back seat but remains potent. It's hard to divide the two as well because they're both spicy in the same way. Once I finished my cup a light warmth lingered in my mouth like the kind you get after a hot Mexican (or Indian) meal.

Even though this tea is unlike any other I've had before with the heat and parallels to past Asian meals, I give Stash's Lemon Ginger a C (decent). Tea shouldn't be spicy like this. If you're looking for a tea to match your dinner containing a large dose of curry, I'd go and find this.

The Maté Factor Dark Roast

My last review of a maté tea was from the same company as what I'll be reviewing today, The Maté Factor. The benefits of it were amazing but I wasn't a huge fan of the taste. The Maté Factor claims their dark roast "brews a delightfully rich, invigorating cup of tea" so I think this one will please my taste buds on a higher level.

Anyone who would be looking down at this cup I hold could be convinced it was coffee. Like my last cup of maté, the scent has that same plant-ish "green" to it but the roasted feature is easy to spot. The taste however makes it hard to miss. This tastes like a light coffee with a much lighter body and lack of bitterness and acidic taste. The aftertaste leaves you with the ying-yang of green and roast. They both linger pleasantly.

I believe this is where black tea and coffee meet, but with better health. The Maté Factor's Dark Roast has a B (good) taste and is a great way to start the day with anioxidants, energy and even an increase in metabolism! This one will be frequently be in my mug in the morning.

Zhi Tea Sweet Desert Delight

I'll be reviewing a rather unique drink today that is unlike any other tea I've tried yet. Zhi Tea calls their Sweet Desert Delight one of their "Signature Blends". It's a rooibos herbal tea but it has much more to it, and it smells quite intriguing. As soon as my cup finishes steeping I'll see if it can live up to its initial impressions.

Its aura is something like a chai with cinnamon and an overtone of coconut that compliments it quite well. These reoccur in the taste but the nuttiness of the rooibos appears with a sweetness that's different from the cinnamon. It's something like fine sugar which I rarely add to my coffee or tea, but it fits in well here. There's a light aftertaste with the sweetness and a modified nutty flavor that tastes more toasted.

Zhi Tea should be proud of this tea and I believe they are, calling it their "Signature Blend". My fiance found this very enjoyable and gives it her stamp of approval. Now I'm not typically fan of sweeter drinks but, I give it an A (excellent) and think many others would give it an A+.

The Maté Factor Fresh Green

Some of you may be asking "what is maté?" Well it's a south american infused drink like tea with far more caffeine than tea, so it's also a common coffee alternative. Others drink it for its health benefits such as; antioxidants, vitamins, weight-loss, and a hunger suppresant. If you'd like more info on this check out Wikipedia's article on it, but I'm here today to review The Maté Factor's product for it's taste.

I chose their green maté because it's suppose to be prepared differently and fresher unlike most that're roasted. "Green" is easily detected right from the start, with my first whiff detecting a planty green that's hard to describe. Something like grass but more enjoyable. A nuttyness is also easy to precieve. I find it tastes green as well, but less of a fresh plant and more earthy. The aftertaste returns as the almond nuttness that could be smelled before. there's also a slight bitterness to the drink that can easily be countered with a sweetner if not enjoyed, (I typically serve it with a toch of honey).

I'm sorry about my lack of a more defined portrayal of the taste, but it's a rather unique drink. I reccomend it to any who want less caffiene in their morning cup and a healthy drink that'll keep them from wanting a snack untill lunch. I give it a B (good).

Yogi Tea Egyptian Licorice

Yogi Tea tries to sell their products just as much as an herbal mood and health supplement as a tea you'll enjoy. Visit their website and see. You might've also noticed how much Yogi sounds like yoga! But who cares about the benefits of drinking tea (I do a little), so we'll move on to the benefits of its taste.

As my tea steeped guess what it smelled like? Licorice. When I say licorice don't think of Twizzlers, think an exotic sweet with a touch of peppermint. Once I sipped the drink I experienced the same but a new note of nutmeg and cinnamon could be found. The Yogi website decalred that there were orange peels as well but I coldn't find that. After I found this I left the teabag in my tea to see what it would do, and I found the licorice got stronger (but not the nutmeg). There were no negative effects of this in my opinion either like getting bitter, too "blunt" or throwing off the balance of flavors. An aftertaste also develops as you get down to the bottom of your cup. It's another apperance of licorice! This time it's only the "exotic sweetness", and it continues to grow and become more noticable as you finish your cup.

This is a good product and it might have some good propperties to help digestion. I just don't know if Yogi's addition of cinnamon and orange peels has done much to compliment the licorice. B (good).

Zhena's Gypsy Tea Red Lavender

This one is a favorite of my fiance. She has a cup with a touch of honey whenever she wants to go to bed, and it works. "Red tea" isn't the standard traditional tea camllia sinensis but rooibos (roy-bos), a tea with many anti-oxidants and NO caffeine! So it obviously should be a choice for all of you yoga and health-nuts out their.Let's move on to what matters to us: Does it taste good?

It does taste good. Smelling the tea before and after being steeped all you can get is lavender because it overpowers the rooibos. Tasting the final product you'll find out what rooibos tastes like. It's rather hard to describe but I'll put it as a rich and slightly nutty sweetness. Of course the lavender is still present but doesn't conquer the taste of the rooibos. As I stated before, me and my finance typically serve this with a touch of clover honey to even the sweetness of the lavender. An aftertaste develops as you drink your cup that's the floral element of the lavender, not the sweet one.

Because lavender isn't a favorite flavor of mine I give Zhena's Red Lavender a solid B (good), but my finance and mother would easily grade it as an A- (excellent).